New Beginnings
by Ejthedj6
Summary: Edward is struggling to cope with the unexpected loss of his father when he meets a boy who could finally help him to find happiness in his life once again. AU, AH, OOC, Jasper/Edward Pairing, Rated M for future explicit content.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N **

**hello everyone.**

**this is my first twilight fic so don't hate me if it is not that great. please let me know if you liked it and i will hopefully be updating fortnightly with new chapters. enjoy.**

**disclaimer: i do not own any of the characters of twilight. no copyright infringement was intended. **

**Chapter 1**

EPOV

I awoke to the sound of my mother sobbing loudly, easily heard through the thin walls of the dingy flat we were living in. I wasn't surprised to hear the noises that I heard almost every night these days and I felt my mind turn to auto pilot as I crawled out of bed, pulled on some tracksuit bottoms and walked to her bedroom door.

I paused for a moment with my hand gripping the handle, pressing my face against the cool wood, wondering why things had all gone so wrong.

Then I shook myself out of it. _I have to be strong for mum's sake_. So I opened the door and crawled into bed next to mum, pulling her shaking form towards me and holding her tightly in my arms. I tried to hold her together to stop her from falling apart from the grief that flowed through her because if she did that then there would be no hope for me.

Anyone who saw mum in the day at work would think she was coping fine, however it was all a façade - one that broke down as soon as she walked through the door. Every night she walked in I saw her whole posture collapse as the weight of her grief pressed down on her and she walked around the house like a ghost barely speaking, barely eating and slowly the person I knew as my mum disappeared before my eyes.

And then the night came and I would finally see her true feelings poured out before me and all I could do was try and take some of the pain from her and tell her how strong and amazing she was. But it killed me to know that there was nothing I could do to speed up her recovery and it seemed she was going to take a while before she got back to normal.

At least I hoped she would get back to normal. Everyone says time is the greatest healer however every day my mum seemed to withdraw more and more into herself and I wondered if there would ever be a time when I would see her happy smiling face again.

"Edward?" mum whispered a while after the tears had stopped falling.

"Yes, mum," I said.

"I don't know how you're doing this."

"It's nothing mum."

"No, it isn't. I should be the one looking after you and yet all you're doing is keeping me together and I am sorry you have to do this. You shouldn't have to. I am so sorry."

Her lip trembled and I hurried to try and stop the sobs from returning.

"Don't be sorry mum. I love you so much and we're in this together. I will always look after you, don't you worry."

"I love you Edward."

"Love you too mum."

I kissed her forehead lightly and then stroked her hair and whispered words of comfort until she fell asleep with a look on her face that looked almost peaceful. It was good to see an expression that wasn't sadness or anguish on her face.

I stayed for a few minutes longer and then I crept back to my own room and collapsed onto my bed. I glanced at the illuminated clock face on my bedside table and groaned when I saw the time: 5:30am. Getting up in an hour for school was going to be hell. I turned onto my side and tried to get to sleep but as usual it stayed out of my grasp, my mind incapable of shutting down when it was so full of worries and fears.

I tossed and turned as the usual thoughts entered my head, _When will the money run out, how will mum get a better job, where would _I _find a job, how would I keep up with my school work when I found one? _And the last question was the one that returned most frequently and nagged at me even as sleep finally claimed me: _How are we meant to cope without Dad?_

When my alarm went off I immediately hit the snooze button and turned over, pulling the covers over my head and trying to ignore the fact that I had to get up.

When, 5 minutes later, the ringing blared out again I sighed, switching the noise off and sitting up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and picked my glasses up off of the bedside table. My head was pounding from the lack of sleep and I was in desperate need of some caffeine.

I stumbled into the kitchen, switching on the kettle and grabbed a pot of instant granules out of the cupboard. As I waited for the water to boil I leaned against the counter closing my eyes and almost dozing off when the whistling started and I was shocked out of my daze.

I made myself and mum a coffee and then cautiously ventured into her room to wake her up.

"Mum," I called quietly, placing her coffee on the bedside table, "Wake up mum."

"Hmm…what is it Arthur?" she mumbled.

I cringed inside as I saw my mum open her eyes and the light drain out of them as she realised where she was and what had happened.

"I brought you some coffee mum."

"Thanks Edward, dear, I'll get up in a moment."

"Sure thing mum."

I slipped out the room as mum rolled over and fell back asleep. I would have to make sure she was definitely up before I left for school.

As I sipped at my coffee I picked up the books and pens scattered about the place and chucked them into my bag in no particular order, not caring I would have to sort them out later. On days like these my mind didn't really function properly. All I could do was try and get to the end of the day without revealing the turmoil going on inside my head to my classmates. I generally stayed quiet, preferring to keep my head down and let the conversations flow past me.

Nothing discussed every really caught my attention anymore as nothing seemed to be important. I no longer had the busy social life from a few months ago as it didn't matter anymore to me. My mates had given up trying to coax me into hanging out with them, now they just let me sit on the sidelines of our friendship group. I didn't join in with anything but they didn't kick me out either which I appreciated. Although I no longer felt the need for a social life, I felt their support around me at school and the past few months would have been a lot harder without them.

After my coffee I jumped into the shower quickly then pulled on my usual shirt and trousers. I noticed it was already 7:00 and I realised I would have to rush to catch the train on time. I shove my bag over my shoulder and ran into mum's room. I felt a stab of sympathy as I saw her asleep and realised I would have to get her up again.

"Mum," I shouted as I no longer had the time to be gentle.

"Huh," she muttered.

"You gotta get up mum. I'm going to miss the train and I'll be late for school...again"

She must have heard the desperation in my voice as she sat up slowly and gave me a weak smile.

"I'm up alright."

"Ok then I'll see you later, yeah?"

"See you. Love you Edward."

"Love you too," I called grabbing my tie and blazer and running out the door. I ran down the stairs trying to do my tie up simultaneously. I fumbled with the knot as I exited out block of flats and decided to give up as I looked at my watch again ang began to peg it down the road towards the station.

I ran down the stairs onto the platform and straight onto the train just before the doors began to close. I breathed a sigh of relief as my heart thumped in my chest and my breathing began to even out from the sprint.

After catching my breath I looked around trying to spot if there was a seat for me so I could catch up on some sleep. I smiled when I spotted one a bit further down and slowly made my way towards it trying not to fall over as the train vibrated beneath my feet.

I chucked my bag into the rack above my head and then collapsed into my seat.

I was shocked when I looked at the boy sitting opposite me. He looked about my age and he was wearing our school's uniform but I had never noticed him before. I assumed he must be new as I couldn't have missed someone as gorgeous as him walking around school without catching my eye. As I stared at him he looked up and when he noticed our matching attires he gave me nervous smile.

"Hi," he said in a surprisingly deep voice, "I guess you go to St. Peters too. Today's my first day. I just moved down here from London."

For a few seconds I continued to stare at him, transfixed by the small dimples either side of his slim, smooth lips. But then I realised I should be talking and I blushed at my obvious appreciation of his mouth.

"Sorry, I'm really tired. Yeah I go to St. Peters. My name's Edward by the way and you?"

"Oh I'm Jasper. Jasper Whitlock."

**to be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N  
>sorry for the long wait everyone but exams meant i couldn't continue writing this story as fast as I wanted to. hopefully the next chapter should be up soon though as I have already started writing it. enjoy.<strong>

**Disclaimer: i do not own any of the characters of twilight. no copyright infringement was intended. **

**Chapter 2**

EPOV

"Nice to meet you Jasper," I said grinning.

I felt a small thrill as his name rolled over my tongue so easily. I liked it – Jasper – it seemed quirky and but fit him well.

"Why did you move out of London Jasper?" I said feeling I should get a conversation going to make him feel more comfortable. I also wanted to have the chance to say his name again - become familiar with it.

"My parents grew tired of the city life and they wanted to experience traditional, English rural life," he said smirking as if the idea seemed amusing to him, "They believe that our lives will magically become peaceful just because we can see loads of hills outside our window and there's loads of fresh air about."

I noticed the sarcastic tone of his voice but what attracted my attention more was the realisation that he had a subtle American accent.

"Believe me the countryside isn't all that great. There isn't anything to do around here unless you have the money to travel into the city. But then that would defeat the purpose of moving away."

"Exactly what I said to my parents, but no, they didn't care about my opinion. All they care about is themselves and trying to sort out their sham of a marriage."

Jasper looked up at me suddenly as if only just noticing how incredibly open he was being with a stranger. I saw a small blush tint his cheeks and I immediately promised that I would do whatever it takes to make him do that again as it was the cutest thing I had ever seen.

"So…" I said attempting to change topic, "Do you come from America originally? Only I noticed the accent."

"Oh yeah, I was born in raised in Texas. But we moved here when I was eight. I don't really remember it that well – it seems a long time ago. My most clear memory is of the manic packing we had to do for weeks on end before we shipped everything off here."

"Wow! I've lived in the town of Petersons all my life. I've never even been to Wales before let alone abroad. I feel so unworldly compared to you."

"Oh well apart from the moving I haven't really travelled. My parents' jobs don't allow them to have long breaks. But I'd love to travel the world when I am older."

"Me too. I'd never be brave enough to travel around on my own though. I'd be scared of getting mugged or saying the wrong thing in another language."

"Well I guess you'll have to find a nice, protective travelling companion then won't you?"

"I guess I will."

He grinned at me and I couldn't help grinning back. His happy, flirty mood was infectious and we were still grinning at each other stupidly when the train pulled into our stop. I blinked and jumped up to retrieve my bag and get off the train. I got my ticket out of my blazer pocket and joined the cue of commuters trying to get out of the station.

When I was finally through I looked around sheepishly hoping to see Jasper appear. When I had been there a few minutes I realised he had obviously left and I looked like a complete douche bag standing around waiting for nobody.

I abruptly turned on my heel and stalked out the station doors feeling angry at myself for acting so desperate. I heard someone call my name and I glanced back inside the station to see Jasper running towards me.

"Hey Edward! Wait up!"

I stopped in my tracks and waited for him to catch up with me.

"I couldn't find my ticket in my bag and started panicking and didn't know what to do when I remembered my mum told me she had put it in my blazer pocket and so I finally managed to get out and….yeah…I'll stop babbling now," he said as, to my delight, he blushed profusely.

"Sorry I left - I thought you had started making your own way."

"Oh no, of course not."

We stood there staring at each other again

"I guess we better get going," he said and I laughed.

"Yes of course."

We turned and began walking together in companionable silence glancing at each other every now and again.

"So what subjects do you take?" I asked and we easily fell into another conversation.

It turned out we were very different. I took Physics, Maths and Biology whereas he took English literature, French and History. We both took Chemistry though and I secretly hoped that he would be in the same class as me.

When we reached the school gates I began to head to my form room when I realised he probably didn't know where he was going.

"Err…do you know what form you're in?"

"No not yet. I am meant to go the main office, I think.

"Oh I'll show you there."

"Thanks."

As we walked though the throngs of people in the corridors I saw his knuckles turn white as he gripped the strap of his school bag and his eyes flicker side to side.

"Hey – are you alright Jasper?"

"Yeah I'm just not a great fan of crowds. A bit enochlophobic – it's stupid really."

"Of course it isn't. You know I have to keep it on the down low so I don't get beaten up. But if there are any creepy crawlies around I scream like a girl and run away."

He grinned at me and I was pleased to see the hands on his bag loosen slightly.

He finally relaxed completely when I turned left into the empty main office area.

"Hi Mrs B," I called to the receptionist – my mum's best friend coincidentally.

"Hello Edward how are you doing today?" she asked with her normal sympathetic tone, "You're looking pretty cheerful"

I felt my good mood disappear slightly as I realised that since meeting Jasper I hadn't thought of my dad at all. I felt a wave of guilt wash over me and yet at the same time I felt a small thrill that there was someone at this school who didn't know about my dad and therefore didn't treat me any differently.

"I'm OK. Just met Jasper here on the train and thought I'd bring him here. He's the new boy."

"Oh yes, hello Jasper dear. I've got some letters here with all the information you need. Now you've made friends with Edward though I am sure you won't have any trouble. He's one of our best students you know."

"Don't flatter me Mrs B," I said blushing at her comment.

"I am sure she speaks the truth," Jasper said taking the forms from her and grinning at me.

"Oh I always do Jasper. Now for the younger years we normally assign a buddy to new pupils to show them around and introduce them to everyone but I assume you don't want me to do that for you - especially as you've got Edward here to show you the ropes."

"Oh I'm sure I'll be fine as long as Edward doesn't mind showing me where my rooms are."

"Sure, no problem – lets have a look at your timetable."

He handed it to me and I lead him out the office calling out goodbye to Mrs B.

"Thanks for your help," Jasper said.

"No problem, see you boys later," she replied.

I was relieved to see the corridors were empty as form had already started and the relief on Jasper's face showed - he was obviously pleased too.

"Well, you're in the same form as me so that's easy," I said grinning as I noticed he was in my chemistry class too, "and we'd better head over the there now as we're a bit late."

"Oh great I'm late on my first day. What a good impression."

"Don't worry. You can blame everything on me."

"I'll remember that for the future."

I laughed at him as I opened the door to our form room and walked in.

"Good afternoon, nice of you to join us," Mr Evans looked up and when he saw me his annoyed expression softened, "Oh sorry Edward, didn't realise it was you, do come in. I haven't taken the register yet so don't worry about being marked late."

I frowned at him. I hadn't realised how differently everyone treated me until I had spent some time with someone like Jasper who knew nothing about my dad.

"Hi Mr Evans, Sorry I'm late - I was helping Jasper get his timetable from the office."

"No Problem Edward – I'm just glad to see a smile on your face. And yes of course we have a new student in our form."

Jasper stepped forward beside me and I noticed the whole class look him up and down - obviously judging to see if he was worthy enough to join their group of friends. It didn't matter what they decided though - because I had got in there first.

"Everyone, this is Jasper Whitlock. Now I could make you introduce yourself to the whole class right now but I'm not that cruel. I'll just let you do that in your own time."

"Thanks," he said and followed me as I made my way to the back of the classroom to my normal table.

I pulled up an extra chair for Jasper and then sat down next to Bella.

"Morning," I said smiling at her.

She stared back at me looking shocked and I realised that I hadn't spoken to her for weeks.

"Morning," she said having obviously found her voice, "Do you know Jasper already?"

"Well not that well," I said grinning at him, "We only met on the train this morning."

"Oh right. You seem quite perky today."

"Do you normally walk around looking moody Edward? Only everyone seems to be surprised by your good mood."

"Oh well of course Edward hasn't exactly been very happy lately be-"

I cut Bella off with a glare, "I've not been happy lately as I have been forced to get up earlier now we've moved further away from school and I am _not _a morning person."

"Really? I love the morning. I used to get up and go for a run before school at my old place."

"What? Why would you take away precious sleeping hours just for running?"

Out of the corner of my eye I notice Bella frown down at the table but then she looked up at Jasper and smiled and I hoped that she had got the message that I wanted to keep my dad's death a secret – for now. If only to prolong the easy conversations I had with Jasper that weren't full of pity and sympathy. It gave me hope that maybe I could finally be released from the difficulties of the past few months and start to enjoy my life again.

**to be continued...**


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